Holiday Magic 🌟

In cities like Toronto, there are many cultures, many celebrations. 🌍 Christmas is upon us, a special and magical time for many.🎄 Certainly, for the majority. Growing up in a small, First Nations community, for my Indian parents who moved there, everything was new. 🇮🇳 🇨🇦 As school teachers, they adapted, assimilated, learned. 📝 About having a feast of thanks on Thanksgiving, painting eggs during Easter, writing out cards of love on Valentine’s Day, celebrating upcoming births with baby showers and christenings, and of course a fresh pine tree in our living room every December.🌲 While our family is Punjabi Sikh, my brother, sister, and I grew up in a home that adopted many North American customs in a cultural, if not religious sense. My parents opened their minds and hearts to those around them, and willingly brought new traditions into our lives. 🏠 My Dad always says, “When in Rome…” I don’t know, that had we lived in a more Indian town, would they do the same? I admire them for instilling Indian values in us, and our younger siblings now, but also allowing room for mainstream traditions. One does not erase the other. Our identity is thus a fusion of western and eastern ideals, religion a broadly spiritual presence in our lives. 🙏🏽 And what some may perceive as ‘white-washing’ or appropriation, might also be a celebration of all that is around us. An open mind leads to an open heart. ♥️

Assuming everyone celebrates Christmas is definitely problematic. Everyone does not.☝🏽And as immigrants try and hold on to identity, for themselves and their children, it can be hard, living in North America. 🌎 Juggling mainstream traditions and one’s own culture proves difficult. All that aside, in the vein of no longer marginalizing those who are not Christian, growth is around us. We can celebrate cultures and religions, without shunning others. 🤷🏻‍♀️Heck, even Starbucks modified their holiday cup -- so as to include it’s increasingly diverse patrons, yet also ring in the spirit of this time of year. ❄️

I grew up in a place where there were no other Indians. I am sure it was lonely for my parents at times. Might they have assimilated less, elsewhere? Case in point, my husband’s family began embracing Christmas much more so, when he and I got married. Can we not adopt new traditions and ways of living for the generations that grow up here? There should be no fear in this, for it is not a bad thing. We don’t have to wipe out our own identity, when we allow it to meet another. 🤝 When one does not infringe on the other, maybe there is room for all traditions, customs, holidays, and festivities. Prayer is but one part of culture, but it encompasses so much more: art, social institutions, achievements, food, dress, music.

And magic is also just that. Magic. This winter in particular, might we all need just a little bit of it? 💫